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Nintendo releases Switch Pro with CPU boost mode. It's the Switch you already have.

iconmaster

Banned
With firmware update 8.0, the Switch now has the option of jumping from 1 GHz to 1.75 GHz CPU clock speed for a limited time. So far this seems to be used in shortening load times for Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Apparently for both games boost mode support was rolled into the recent VR-compatibility updates.

Load times in BotW have dropped by as much as 10 seconds.


Seems like other games will have to be updated to take advantage of it, and I'm not sure whether developers could use this in a limited way to achieve boosted performance in other areas -- obviously we're not talking about the GPU here, but there are CPU-bound processes in games too.
 

Fake

Member
Bug or official? Work docked? Strange... Hope NS have a decent cooling system.
Anw, any updrage is welcome.
 
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TLZ

Banned
Yea I've seen modders play with these settings and it was all safe, just obviously less play time because more battery use when portable.
 

Azelover

Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.
Yea I've seen modders play with these settings and it was all safe, just obviously less play time because more battery use when portable.
It's probably gonna work like the moving media on PSP. It demands a little more battery, but it's only using it for a short time so the game can load faster. It might not make a huge difference battery-wise considering the whole picture.

Very cool(no pun)
 
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TLZ

Banned
It's probably gonna work like the moving media on PSP. It demands a little more battery, but it's only using it for a short time so the game can load faster. It might not make a huge difference battery-wise considering the whole picture.

Very cool(no pun)
So is that something like dynamic speed? Like it detects demanding areas so it automatically speeds up to accommodate and keep a stable performance? Or is it manually done by devs you think? No idea if that dynamic stuff is possible.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
Wow. Did any insiders or tear down sites know Switch could do boost mode?


Well we did know the TX1 in other devices like the Shield could run faster than the Switch had tamped it down to. This is unlocking some of that in short bursts like Turbo Boost on a modern processor.
 

Harlock

Member
Interesting how Sony did the same thing with the PSP in 2007. But was permanent boost.

https://www.engadget.com/2007/06/23/psp-clockspeed-upped-to-333mhz-after-3-50-firmware-update/

Sony has admitted that it sneakily upgraded the PSP's clockspeed to 333MHz (from 266MHz) in the version 3.50 firmware update that was released last month. This admission is confusing for a couple of reasons: for starters, Sony originally underclocked the PSP in order to increase the stated battery life of the console. Does that mean they'll be forced to decrease the stated battery life, so as to avoid false advertisement? It's also rather odd that developers are only now being granted access to the extra MHz oomph, prompting mutterings of a new PSP model which -- as one Joystiq commentator points out -- could take as long to appear as games that take full advantage of the 333MHz clockspeed. Or, maybe this upgrade simply enabled the PSP to cope with all that "remote play" malarkey that 3.50 enabled. That would be the logical assumption.
 

PhoenixTank

Member
So is that something like dynamic speed? Like it detects demanding areas so it automatically speeds up to accommodate and keep a stable performance? Or is it manually done by devs you think? No idea if that dynamic stuff is possible.
Well we did know the TX1 in other devices like the Shield could run faster than the Switch had tamped it down to. This is unlocking some of that in short bursts like Turbo Boost on a modern processor.
The GBAtemp post notes that it only seems to happen on loading screens. If Nintendo don't keep it to themselves, it'd likely be a manual toggle in the SDK somewhere rather than a "boost whenever you can" mode.
 

Kenpachii

Member
It's smart actually if they release a new switch with better battery life. This will drain the battery life of the old handheld far faster then it already did and makes people upgrade faster as result.
 

stranno

Member
Interesting how Sony did the same thing with the PSP in 2007. But was permanent boost.
There are some things wrong there. PSP stock was 222MHz(CPU)/111MHz(GPU), not 266MHz. IIRC VSH menu (XMB) ran even at lower frequency, i dont remember if 166MHz or 122MHz, but it even ran "fine" at 75MHz.

333MHz mode for devs was officially unlocked in 2007, but on June 2006 it was already available for softmodded units through Booster's DevHook loader (scePowerSetClockFrequency). Edit: And even before that it was available for Liberty City Stories' Cheat Device by Edison Carter.
 
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Harlock

Member
There are some things wrong there. PSP stock was 222MHz(CPU)/111MHz(GPU), not 266MHz. IIRC VSH menu (XMB) ran even at lower frequency, i dont remember if 166MHz or 122MHz, but it even ran "fine" at 75MHz.

333MHz mode for devs was officially unlocked in 2007, but on June 2006 it was already available for softmodded units through Booster's DevHook loader.

I never had a PSP. But that was the info back in 2007:
https://web.archive.org/web/20070626055327/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26057

Firmware update 3.5 removes 266 MHz cap

SCEA has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that PSP firmware update 3.5 removes the software restriction capping the CPU speed at 266 MHz.

Although the PSP is capable of a clock speed of 333 MHz, it was previously locked at 266 MHz, or about 80% of its processing power, in a presumed attempt to lengthen battery life.

After the most recent PSP firmware update, developers are now able to code for the full processor speed. This update will not retroactively affect any previously released titles, but will only apply to those titles currently in development. Games taking advantage of the additional clock speed should be able to run at a higher frame rate, but at the cost of draining the battery more quickly.

There was no official word from SCEA whether or not unlocking the CPU's power is a first step towards the rumored re-design of Sony's portable.
 

scalman

Member
Psp was amazing machine and later best emulation machine for all those retro games. On cfw you could choose cpu speed yourself go to max or stay at default.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
before ya'll get too excited it only seems to improve load times.

the cpu boosts to 1.75 when loading and then goes back down to 1.0. we aren't gonna be seeing all titles run with higher resolution/framerate.

things may change though but right now you're only gonna notice shorter loading times.
 
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blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Makes sense. Do it while the GPU isn't doing much.
One of my qualms with the way nintendo handled the switch has been the CPU clock cap -- they should have let devs decide what processing to prioritize when.

Apropos, the TX1 Nano (as found in the Jetson TX Nano) does up to 1.43GHz CPU paired with a halved (vs TX1/switch) maxwell but at increased speeds (921MHz vs 768MHz). That hw operates under two power envelopes -- 5W and 10W, subject to jp selection and proper power sourcing. I'm convinced after playing with a nano for a while that switch heat disposal system can handle non-sustained bursts of CPU clocks close to 2GHz.
 
TOLD YOU it was at least 1 jigglypuff. I refer to that thread about switch specs being not much better than a wiiU simply because its tegra ran downclocked. Well it ain't downclocked no more. 1+ Jigglypuff time. 1.75ghz is nuts though, even the most edgy homebrew users have only dared juice it up to 1.6ghz.
 
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One of my qualms with the way nintendo handled the switch has been the CPU clock cap -- they should have let devs decide what processing to prioritize when.

Apropos, the TX1 Nano (as found in the Jetson TX Nano) does up to 1.43GHz CPU paired with a halved (vs TX1/switch) maxwell but at increased speeds (921MHz vs 768MHz). That hw operates under two power envelopes -- 5W and 10W, subject to jp selection and proper power sourcing. I'm convinced after playing with a nano for a while that switch heat disposal system can handle non-sustained bursts of CPU clocks close to 2GHz.
Isn't TX1 Nano 12nm vs 20nm on Switch?
 

Virex

Banned
It's just for loading. So there is no boost at all to actual game play. It's laughable to put Switch Pro in the thread title
 
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Hudo

Member
So the actual Switch Pro could just make the clock rate of 1.75 GHz permanent, then? I think that would be a reasonable expectation.
 

01011001

Banned
It's just for loading. So there is no boost at all to actual game play. It's laughable to put Switch Pro in the thread title

it's just for loading in these 2 instances.
the new firmware gives the system a new CPU mode to run under, which means that potentially other developers can use this mode permanently in their games to boost performance and make ports possible that otherwise wouldn't be.

this will of course absolutely tank your battery life, so many devs might decide against using it.


this also could give us a look at what the Switch pro will be.
it could be that the new model was designed with this clockspeed in mind and has a better battery or a more efficient chipset, so that you'll get better battery lifes than the current model and at higher clock speeds for both GPU and CPU.
 

iconmaster

Banned
So the actual Switch Pro could just make the clock rate of 1.75 GHz permanent, then? I think that would be a reasonable expectation.

Seems like, if the battery were beefed up accordingly. I’m not sure the current GPU can be clocked higher. Modders have got it running at docked speed while in handheld, but I’m not aware of any hax beyond that.
 

ultrazilla

Member
Very cool development on the Switch front. I think this probably points to an eventual "Switch Pro" that will have a bigger battery, more ram and just be clocked at
higher frequencies to bump up performance. I also think Nintendo will probably look at cooling/fan options as well for "Pro" model.

Pretty damn amazing that simply boosting the clock speeds like that results in much faster load times.

I'm wondering if Panic Button(Doom Switch port) will put out some type of patch that utilizes the higher clock speeds to increase performance?
 
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kraspkibble

Permabanned.
So the actual Switch Pro could just make the clock rate of 1.75 GHz permanent, then? I think that would be a reasonable expectation.
0.75 is a significant increase but it totally depends on how well they can cool a system that is running at 1.75 as stock and if they can provide enough battery capacity. it's fine in the switch now because it only seems to benefit loading times which is of course when the GPU isn't really doing much. running at 1.75 is a totally different situation when playing the games where the GPU is also rendering.
 
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SonGoku

Member
One of my qualms with the way nintendo handled the switch has been the CPU clock cap -- they should have let devs decide what processing to prioritize when.

Apropos, the TX1 Nano (as found in the Jetson TX Nano) does up to 1.43GHz CPU paired with a halved (vs TX1/switch) maxwell but at increased speeds (921MHz vs 768MHz). That hw operates under two power envelopes -- 5W and 10W, subject to jp selection and proper power sourcing. I'm convinced after playing with a nano for a while that switch heat disposal system can handle non-sustained bursts of CPU clocks close to 2GHz.
Im curious, what good would a few seconds 2ghz boost do (under 10s) in gaming?
 

thief183

Member
I'd like to make a question.. when I'm using An USB-C recharger, in undocked mode, why my switch doesn't keep the same clock ss the docked mode? Can I Force It?
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Im curious, what good would a few seconds 2ghz boost do (under 10s) in gaming?
It's a complex question. A few tens of seconds of 100% CPU boost could be anything from absolutely useless, to a provider of a steady framerate in scenarios where the frameloop is CPU-bottlenecked at well-known transient locations/moments in a game.
 
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